A developer built an open-source API linter for OpenAPI specifications after spotting inconsistent field naming across his own microservices. The tool offers a simple CLI command for immediate validation, targeting individuals and small teams who need fast feedback without enterprise tooling overhead.

The linter uses a modular architecture with eleven validators covering common API design issues. An optional AI integration via Google's Gemini API provides context-aware suggestions for fixes, but it remains non-blocking and offline-first to respect privacy and cost concerns. This design prioritizes speed and simplicity over comprehensive governance.

Performance was critical, reducing validation time to under 100 milliseconds through lazy loading and parallel execution. The tool also includes a pattern discovery feature to infer team conventions from existing specs. It's now available under the MIT license, with plans for IDE integration and broader schema support.